Friday Night SmackDown’s main event certainly pleased WWE fans with an impressive match.
Gunther and LA Knight were the finalists in the Last Time Is Now tournament to become John Cena‘s final opponent.
In a thrilling battle for the ages, Gunther pinned Knight for the three-count after a nasty Powerbomb, sending Cena an intimidating message to the camera.
Here is what the Austrian’s year has looked like so far as he now competes against the acclaimed GOAT of WWE.
From unstoppable to losing the world title
Gunther’s 2025 started with a World Heavyweight title defence, pinning Royal Rumble Winner, Jey Uso.
‘The Ring General’ pinned Uso in remarkable fashion, reversing a Spear with a Powerbomb before slamming him a second time to win the fight.
The Vienna-born wrestler then earned victories over Akira Tozawa, Otis and Axiom as he continued to assert his dominance.
Jey Uso chose to face Gunther at WrestleMania 41 with his Royal Rumble-winning benefit.
Before competing on the grandest stage of them all, the Austrian superstar brutally defeated Jimmy Uso on Monday Night RAW in London.
The beating was so brutal, the referee had to stop the match and give Gunther the win, leaving an avenge-minded Jey to witness the terrible action.
This could have brought karma upon himself as the 38-year-old lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Jey Uso at WrestleMania 41.
Uce managed to submit Gunther with a sleeper hold, tapping him out to claim the greatest win of his career.
Revenge is sweet, but more danger awaits
A furious Gunther could not contain his rage as he attacked Pat McAfee at Raw after WrestleMania.
This began a rivalry that led to a matchup at WWE Backlash, where The Ring General reigned supreme but showed respect to McAfee after the fight.
One month later, on Monday Night Raw, the World Heavyweight title changed hands as Gunther claimed revenge and choked out Jey Uso.
The former NXT Champion faced Uso a month later on Friday Night SmackDown in an Extreme Rules match, once again winning to keep his championship.
At Saturday Night’s Main Event in July, Gunther retired his idol, Goldberg, after Goldberg was another victim of a submission.
However, the main threat came from CM Punk, who challenged the Austrian for the world title at SummerSlam.
Both men engaged in a war of words for weeks until their 30-minute wrestling match took place in New Jersey.
Punk pinned Gunther with a Go To Sleep (GTS) to become the new champion, despite losing the title afterwards from Seth Rollins’ Money In The Bank cash-in.
The journey to face Cena
After months away from the WWE ring, Gunther returned to compete in the Last Time Is Now tournament to decide Cena’s final opponent.
The former leader of Imperium had never faced the 17-time world champion, as this was his perfect opportunity.
The 38-year-old first defeated Je’Von Evans on Raw at Madison Square Garden to advance to the Quarter-Finals.
A wild Powerbomb was enough to pin Carmelo Hayes and send Gunther into the last four of the tournament.
The matchups would only get more difficult as the former World Heavyweight Champion faced Solo Sikoa.
Sikoa appeared to have the advantage with the help of his MFT members, but Gunther was eventually victorious.
Now, after defeating LA Knight on SmackDown in Texas, they will prepare for a fascinating battle next weekend.
Saturday Night’s Main Event will either see a grand farewell for Cena or a depressing end to The Face of the WWE courtesy of Gunther.
